Percy, the Wizard
by clashgrrl
Summary: What if Percy's mother had died when he was little? What if Poseidon had given Percy to Hecate to protect him? And what if Hecate had given Percy to the Potters? Beta'd by Tarnished Silver Things
1. Chapter 1

**Percy the Wizard: The Rewrite**

**This is the rewrite of the first chapter, thanks to my awesome beta.**

Poseidon POV

All that morning, Amphitrite and Triton, my wife and son, had been glaring at me, obviously angered. If forced to, I would guess that they had found out about my relationship with that queen among women, the mortal Sally Jackson. Perhaps, I thought, as Triton glared further at me, I'll visit Sally and Percy today. There, at least, my lover and son aren't looking fit to murder me. Besides, I needed to talk to her anyway . . .

Nodding decisively, I announced, "I'm going out." I tried to ignore just how much I sounded like my brother, Zeus whenever Hera confronted him about his many lovers.

"Don't stay out too late, _dear,_" Amphitrite smiled. Her voice was cold as the river Styx, and her smile steely. I tried not to think of the Fury, Alecto.

Still, the niceties must be observed. "Of course, darling," I demurred, before snapping my fingers and appearing in my lover's apartment living room. Sally was on the loveseat reading a novel, and Percy was on the floor, playing with wooden blocks.

Sally jumped, startled, and looked up to smile at me. Grinning, she said, "Funny, I thought there was a working doorbell."

"I know you're glad to see me anyway," I chortled, striding forward to kiss her.

Sally just shook her head, her hair cascading around her face beautifully.

"Sweetheart," I said, pausing. How to put this . . .

"Yes, honey?" Sally asked, leaning into me.

"I . . . We need to hide Percy from my family. Zeus already knows about us, and I'm sure that Amphitrite and Triton do, too. It's only a matter of time before they discover Percy, as well. Please, Sally, come with me, under the sea."

"But you're a god," Sally smiled, "You can protect us. Besides, Percy is just a baby. They wouldn't really hurt him."

"You don't know my family," I murmured darkly into her hair, holding her close. "Please, I can't lose you."

Sally looked up at me, watching my face for a moment before pressing two fingers to my lips. "You won't lose me, Poseidon. I'll get some things together. Watch Percy."

I felt something was wrong at that moment. The very moment Sally left the room. There was a certain humidity in the room and I could smell ozone.

"NO!" I shouted. Lightning flashed through the sky. I grabbed Percy as quickly as I could and used my powers to create a shield around him. But I was too late. I was too late to save Sally. Then just the apartment we were in, a apartment in the middle of the building exploded.

I tensed and tried to keep relatively calm. I had to protect what I had left of Sally Jackson. I had to protect our son.

I needed to go see Hecate; she owed me a favour.

Hecate POV

I was having a relatively good day when Poseidon, my cousin, literally stormed into my home. His 'wonderful' little hurricane sent all the papers and things in my office flying. Had he not _heard_ of common courtesy?

Probably not, but that was beside the point!

"Hecate," he rumbled, apparently upset, if my several thousand years practice of reading him were right, "You owe me a favour."

Nope, definitely hadn't heard of proper etiquette before.

Still, it was true that I owed him for saving six of my children this past year, some Roman, some Greek.

"Hello, cousin, nice to see you as well. I'm fine, I see that you're troubled?"

The sea god glowered at me. Hmph. "_Hecate_. Sally's dead. I need you to take my son, Percy, away from here. To take him somewhere he'll be safe from Zeus. Can you do it?"

"Of course I can. I take it this will relieve me of my debt to you?"

"Yes," the man gritted out.

"Lovely. Now, shoo, shoo. The longer you're here the less likely it is that I can hide your boy."

Poseidon pursed his lips, but left, scattering more of my papers. Rolling my eyes, I put them to rights with my most potent of powers, magic. I conjured a bassinet for the small child and brought it over to me. "Isn't Daddy grumpy, little one?" I asked the toddler. The green-eyed boy just looked up at me innocently. "I don't see why he's so upset, myself. Still, it's not like he's one to fall in love often . . . Poor dears, you two. Now let's see, where to put you? " I frowned at the child, who gurgled at me happily, his green eyes bright.

Green eyes . . .

"Lily!" I exclaimed. "I know just the place for you, child. My daughter Lily can keep you, sweet. Her and her husband's son Harry is dying anyway, they'll be happy to take you in. So sad . . . Still, it's not like it'll matter too much, hmm? As far as anyone but she and I will know, you'll be her precious baby boy, the Potter heir. But you aren't a wizard, are you? That's easil fixed, however. It is _my_ gift, after all. Do stay calm, sweet, this will only take a minute."

I waved my hand over the child, making sure to give him enough magical power that he would be a legend. My adorable little cousin, and perhaps my champion? If nothing else, he'll need my power to stay alive until he went to Camp in a few years.

When the the glow around the newest child of a Big Three faded, a smiled and cooed, "Now come along, sweet. Time to meet your new mummy."

**So how did you guys like it? First almost all rights belong to JK Rowling and Rick Riordan but it is my plot. I did fix this chapter because of you guy's complaints. I don't about you guy but I hated the orginal version. I hope all my wonderful readers liked this chapter! Please review!**

**Beta'd by Tarnished Silver Things.**


	2. Chapter 2

Percy, the Wizard: A Rewrite

By Clashgrrl

Beta'd by Tarnished Silver Things

Shoshona79: Thanks and I'll continue it as long as new ideas for it pop into my head. ( or if readers put them there!)

Unknown: Sorry, my beta ( glares at beta) switched Hecate to Hekate.

Unknown: O MY DIZZLE POP! THANK YOU!

Hannah Cha: Oops, and thanks.

Maryanna Clarisse Darci: Thanks and I will.

IamWafflesHearMeRAWR: Thanks and I thought so to.

redrobin: Red Robin, to answer most of your questions, reread the last ch. Otherwise, Percy is almost 1.

Tarnished silver things: Do I really have to reply?

Unknown: Thanks.

Saradoc Craver101: Thanks.

Becky199756: Thanks.

LILY POV

I had just decided to breakfast for myself, James, and our little Harry the mundane way when the oddest thing happened. As I dropped my wand onto the counter, it froze. As did the humming of the refrigerator, the sound of James coming down the stairs, and every other thing that made noise in our little cottage.

Time had stopped.

I began to panic, thinking that it was Kronos' doing, when my mother, Hecate, appeared, holding a bundle of cloth. I sighed. "Mother, why are you here?" That bundle had better not be some new sibling of mine, but then, Mother never did do mere social calls.

"Hello my darling," she said, smiling, "As for why I'm here, I had a visit from Poseidon this morning about with his son, Percy." he held out the bundle, and I took it from here, smiling at the healthy child's face, so like, and yet unlike my own boy's. Goddess of magic she may be, but my mother did not know how to hold a child. "Zeus threw a fit and killed Percy's mother, the same way he did Hades' last lover and children. At any rate, Poseidon asked me to hide his son, from his younger brother. You know that the Fates are at most an hour away from cutting your own son's life string, so will you pretend Percy's Percy? You don't have to tell anyone, even your husband about the switch – the boys look well enough alike."

I wanted to shout at my mother for being so cold-hearted, but when I looked at little Percy's green eyes, I couldn't. He was so sweet, and didn't deserve any of this. If nothing else, I could make my own son's last minutes meaningful.

I nodded, and my mother and I walked up the stairs to Harry's room. I picked up Harry and gave him a last kiss, ignoring the fact that I couldn't even tell if he was dead or alive with time being stopped, and handed him to my mother, then put Percy in the crib. Hecate smiled at me and disappeared, her spell breaking at that exact same moment.

Percy began gurgling happily when he saw me, and I called out to my husband. "James! Come look at Harry!"

James was in the room in a second flat, and looked worried, until he saw Percy smiling at us both. James smiled back at him. He rushed over and picked Percy up, holding him close. "Yes," he murmured into the boy's black hair, "Yes, yes! He's okay!" He gave 'his' son a kiss on the top of the head and looked at me. I kissed him.

I didn't like to deceive my husband, but when I saw his face at the sight of a healthy son, I couldn't quite remember why that was.

Hecate POV

Lily's boy died. I was able to get him into Elysium, though, after a long (nd entirely unnecessary; I'm right, after all) debate with my cousin Hades. He gave in quickly, for him, after I told him the whole story. At least Poseidon's son is safe now.


	3. Chapter 3

Percy the wizard

Chapter 3

By clashgrrl

Beta'd by Tarnished Silver Things

**Happy Halloween, guys! Hope you're happy with this chapter. I'm sorry for not updating in like forever. During the time I didn't update I did a lot of stuff like move all the way across the country. So…. PLEASE REVIEW! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or settings or anything, but the plot is my own original idea.**

***JKR's description***

Stupid fools, he thought as he approached the Potter house and watched an unknowing James Potter cast aside his want and leave it on his couch. You should always have your wand with you during a war.

Lord Voldemort, otherwise known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, You-Know-Who, and the Dark Lord, reached out his pale hand for the Potter's cold iron fence. Creak… The gate opened slowly but, thankfully, no one heard the painstakingly loud noise. He quickly walked down the cob stone path.

He quickly slipped his wand out of his robe and swished it, blasting open the front door of this average looking house in Godric's Hollow. He stepped in with his cold, red eyes quickly memorizing the scene. He was standing in a long, cramped hallway, with the empty hole that used to house a door behind him. There was a dining room to his right, a grand room with a magnificent chandelier that appeared to be made of diamonds, casting rainbows all over the furniture. The table was lit by candle light, with a steaming meal sitting on it.

The room on the left was their sitting room. It consisted of a dull green-colored coach, and some comfy looking chairs with one leg rest, and what was it called? A television. A giant muggle television was sitting in the front of the room. And to his surprise, Lilly and James Potter's wands were just right there, with one on the coach and the other on a side table, and no Lilly and James in sight. And at the end of the hall was a long, winding staircase, which led to the upper level of the house, which was where the nursery was, which was where the boy who was destined to defeat whim was playing with his 'mama'.

Then, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named heard Mr. Potter, a filthy muggle-lover; yell the kitchen that was linked to the dining room, "Lilly, it's him! Grad Harry and run! I'll hold him off!"

Yes and how will you do that without a wand? James entered the hallway with fear in his eyes, fear for his child, fear for his wife, and fear for his own life. I pulled out my own yew wand and laughed.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Green light filled the hallway. I heard a scream from the upper floor and saw James Potter fall like a puppet whose strings had been cut. I stepped over the cold body, and lifeless hazel eyes stared, unseeing, at him with a look of horror frozen on his face.

He climbed the hard, steel steps and listened with amusement as Lilly tried to barricade herself into the nursery.

*How stupid they were, and how trusting, thinking that their safety lay in friends, that weapons could be discarded even for moments.*

With one lazy flick of his wand, the door was forced open and Lilly Potter's hastily made barricade was sent flying. * At the sight of him, she dropped her son into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide, as if this would help, as if shielding him from sight she hoped to be chosen instead.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside you silly girl… stand aside, now."

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —"

"This is my last warning -"

"Not Harry! Please… have mercy… have mercy… Not Harry! Not Harry! Please - I'll do anything -"

"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"

He could have forced her away from the crib, but it seemed more prudent to finish them all. *

The green light flooded into the room and she fell, not unlike her husband, just so her child could live a few more moments.

He pointed his wand at the child.* He wanted to see it happen, the destruction of this one, inexplicable danger.* The boy started to cry seeing his mother lying still on the floor. He did not like it crying, he had never liked hearing the children at the orphanage cry.

"Avada Kedavra!"

* And then he broke: He was nothing, nothing but pain and terror, and he must hide himself.*

Percy Jackson was left screaming, with a scar on his forehead and orphaned again.

But this time it was different. This time he had, as Lilly Potter had died, completely and unknowingly taken over Harry Potter's old identity.

**Well there you go. There is your awesome chapter. Till next time, and that will be faster than this update for this chapter. So yeah….. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi people! I am from now on going to update as frequently as possible. And for the matter of this story I have two polls for you guys:**

**1. What year of Hogwarts should Percy find out about Camp Half-blood?**

**a. Second**

**b. Third**

**c. Fourth**

**d. Fifth**

**2. Who should Percy/Harry be paired with later in the story?**

**a. Annabeth**

**b. Ginny**

**c. Other (suggest who you want him to be paired with!)**

**Beta'd by Tarnished Silver Things**

**Disclaimer: I'm still in middle school. Do you really think I'm JKR or Rick Riordan?**

**Now on to the story!**

My day was going pretty bad eve before a giant knocked down my door.

Then it got even worse.

You see, I didn't want to be a wizard. Or live with the Dursleys. Or even meet Dudley. But you don't always get what you want do you?

My name is Harry Potter. I'm eleven years old and I live with my Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin. Saying they hate me and my parents and that's putting it kindly. I personally think they only took me in after my parents died - in a car accident because my dad was drunk. The Dursley's love to remind me of that. It's also the only thing I know about my parents - so that I could be their own slave. Because that's how they treat me.

I sleep in the cupboard under the stairs.

Dudley is my spoiled, chubby, insufferably obnoxious cousin. He has never worked a day in his life. He is such a couch potato that on the weekends, he only stops watching television to go to the bathroom. He even makes his "Mummy" bring him food during his lunchtime and breakfast, and dinner shows. He only goes to school on Monday because Aunt Petunia forces him to; it's the one thing she insists on with him. He has always treated me like I was the bane of his existence. Every time I saw him when no adults were watching, he would beat me up. I really don't know how I made it out of the first grade, when he started making friends to beat me up more. A few times were really weird . . .

Once, when I was running from Dudley and his gang again, I ran as fast as I could but somehow, the prospect of beating me up was wonderful enough to make Dudley run even faster than me. So I jumped over the fence blocking me from the best hiding places I knew, by the school kitchens. I closed my eyes and jumped behind the trash cans. I listened cautiously, waiting for them to run straight by me. After I heard the sound of their footsteps get quieter and quieter, I dared to open my eyes. What I saw shocked me, I was on the school's roof!

Aunt Petunia was my mother's sister. But you couldn't even tell because she pretends that she never even had a sister. I wonder if she and my Mum looked alike. I hope not. I don't know why Aunt Petunia hates my parents so much, she only ever says they were freaks and, in my mum's case 'a drunken **.' She's a skinny, boney person, the exact opposite of her husband and son. She has a long skinny neck which is only so long because she stretched it out craning her neck to spy on the neighbors.

Uncle Vernon looks just like Dudley only a lot older. And fatter too. He's like Dudley also in being practically obsessed with what he does. While Dudley is obsessed with television, Uncle Vernon is obsessed with drills. That's what he does for the majority of the day and then on the days he invites his employers over for dinner, even Dudley has to act like a decent human being. I get to be locked away and not make any noise.

But back to my day. My week actually, because it all started when someone dared write to me, the freak. It was a usual morning when I was sent to fetch the mail. There were four different pieces, a bill and an ad for houses in the neighborhood and another bill and then a strange letter with green ink addressed to… me. I flipped over the letter and saw a strange crest on it. There were four animals, a lion, a snake, a raven, and a badger, with an H in the middle. It said on the front:

Mr. H. Potter

The Cupboard under the Stairs

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey, England

At first I wondered why this person was writing to me. Then I wondered how do they know where I sleep? I started to walk into the living room, slowly carrying the mail as if it was a bomb ticking down to its own self-explosion.

I handed the two bills and the ad to Uncle Vernon and started to open my letter.

Then Dudley took that moment to but in, "Dad, Harry's got something!"

"Boy!" Uncle Vernon shouted. "Give it here!" Before I could respond, the letter was ripped out of my hands and he opened it, scanned the paper, and all the blood seemed to disappear from his face.

"Petunia!" He called out. "Come here!" His voice was raised slightly to a more a high-pitched sound.

Aunt Petunia came over, looked at the letter, and had the same exact reaction. They whispered quietly to each other and I heard them say things like, "How do they know where he sleeps?'" "I don't know, Petunia." and then after a while she came up to my door and said, "Harry, you're getting a little too big for your cupboard. We want you to move into Dudley's second bedroom. Go move your things. Now."

I went to my cupboard and grabbed my stuff and took it up to Dudley's second bedroom, which held broken toys and untouched books, and I only took one trip upstairs, showing how little I owned. As I lay down on the bed, I heard Dudley complain to his Mum, "But I NEED that room! He can't stay in it!"

Well, that's too bad for you, Mr. That's-My-Room-For-All-My-Toys. Apparently your parents are sticking to their decision of me moving into the house junkyard. And I had a sinking feeling that it was all because of that letter, and the fact that the writer of it knew where I slept. Another letter arrived the next day.

But this time it said:

Mr. H. Potter

The Smallest Bedroom

Little Whinging

Surrey, England

Uncle Vernon took the letter from me again and yet again the blood drained out his face. That evening he even slept right outside the door to stop me from seeing the letters. But every day the amount sent doubled. Then Uncle Vernon took a day off of work just to nail shut the mail slot and the door.

But we received a dozen more letters when the milkman delivered 12 bottles of milk through the kitchen window curled up under the bottles. I think Uncle Vernon may have really gone mad at that point.

The next day was Sunday and he finally relaxed. "No post on Sundays." He announced. "No more of those letters today." And then one flew down the fireplace and hit him in the face.

More and more and more letters came flying down into the room and I jumped up, trying to catch one. Aunt Petunia and Dudley were covering their heads and squealing in pain whenever a letter hit one of them. Then Uncle Vernon reached out and grabbed me, carrying me out of the room. Before I could look at a single letter.

Vernon Dursley gathered us all in the front hall and he had a peculiar look on his face, and I could tell he had an idea. Probably one I wouldn't like.

He said, "Everyone pack a bag and then get in the car. Be outside in ten minutes." After packing a bag each we all got in the car and started off to who knows where.

Even my uncle didn't appear to know where he was going but as he said quietly to himself, that he was trying to throw them off. After all the right turns, left turns, and U-turns, we finally got out of the car standing in front of the Railview hotel, on the outskirts of a big city.

We spent the night there, but, in the morning, at breakfast, the hotel manager came up to them and asked, "Which one of you is Harry Potter? I have about a hundred of these at the front desk."

She held up a letter so we could see the green-inked address:

Mr. H. Potter

Room 17

Railview Hotel

Cokeworth

I reached out to grab it but Uncle Vernon knocked my hand out of the way to the astonishment the manager. The Uncle Vernon said gruffly, "I'll take them." He came back, after following the manager to the front desk, holding a giant bag full of letters. But those letters soon were torn to pieces by Aunt Petunia and thrown into a trash can as soon as she was finished. And, of course, I didn't see one word of my letters!

Vernon Dursley was dedicated. Dedicated to finding a place where no one could find us or reach us for delivering mail. Eventually, we ended up at the shore. It was rocky and cold and in the middle of nowhere.

He left the car and locked the rest of us in and Dudley finally dared to ask a question, "Mummy?"

"Yes?"

"Has Daddy gone mad?" I barely managed to stifle my laughter. His Daddy was already mad in my opinion. After all, what sane person would run away from a letter?

Aunt Petunia didn't answer that question because Uncle Vernon had returned with a crazed look and an eerie smile on his face. He opened the car door, forced us all to get out, and then pointed at a man with a crooked smile standing next a rowboat that was big enough for all of us. Oh no, I thought cursing the horrible weather.

Then I heard my loving Uncle say, " This kind man has offered to take us to where we will be staying for the night." He gestured to a rock out in the sea with a little shack on top of it. "Don't worry, Petunia, I already got us some previsions. And no, Dudley, that shack doesn't have television. So everyone hop into the boat!"

Great, just great, I thought as we were slowly rowed out to sea. Even though I loved the sea and the way the boat rocked on top of the water and the smell of the salty air but I did not want to spend my birthday on that rock. I would be turning elven tomorrow while sleeping on the cold floor in a cold shack on a cold rock. And I knew I wasn't going to get any presents from the Dursleys.

Inside the shack, I found the softest spot of floor and then curled up to go to sleep. I watched Dudley, sleeping on the couch covered with a blanket and heard Uncle Vernon snoring from the other room. I waited and watched Dudley's watch for hours, waiting for it to be midnight.

As soon as I heard it go BEEP! there was a pounding on the front door of the shack. It was so loud and force full that it woke up all the Dursleys and the whole shack began to shake. I saw out of the corner of my eye, Uncle Vernon with Aunt Petunia slowly walking into the room with a rifle. Where they got that, I have no idea. Then the door fell down and a giant of a man stepped into the room. He looked at all of us and asked,

"Which one of you is Harry Potter?"

**I couldn't resist leaving that as a cliff hanger! I can't wait to write the next chapter! Please review, it makes me want to update faster! **

**P.S. This is your Christmas/New Year present from me!**


	5. Chapter 5

**PLEASE READ THIS A/N! I originally meant to post this chapter on January 21****st**** for my birthday. But I'm giving it to you guys now, 3 days earlier. But as the Ancient Greeks said, there is no such thing as a free lunch (according to Annabeth). In return for me updating 3 days earlier, I have to ask you guys to do one small favor for me. Please sign Google's petition against the ****SOPA and PIPA. It's really important to me that Congress does not pass that bill. I have already signed that petition. So would you guys please spend those extra five seconds, and sign that petition? If you do sign it, you have my thanks. And if you don't know how to find the petition, the link will be at the top of my profile.**

**For the polls: They're still open so feel free to vote, and the vote so far currently favors Annabeth and second year. **

**A shout out to Checkmate for pointing out errors in previous chapters! I'll fix them asap.**

**Anyway here's chapter five!**

**Beta'd by Tarnished Silver Things**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter. I do however have a pen, some paper, and my own original plot.**

**P.S. This chapter goes back to when the Potters had just died. Just telling you guys so it doesn't confuse you.**

Sally POV

All I had done was fall in love with Poseidon. I hadn't done it intentionally, of course, but I don't think anyone ever purposely falls in love. Poseidon. . . He was smart, handsome, and kind. Everything I had ever hoped for but never dreamt to have. He insisted on helping me pay to get my GED and go to college, no matter how many times I said not to, that he didn't need to.

But then it all fell apart.

Lightning struck the building and I was . . . Sinking, it felt like. I opened my eyes and saw I was in a lobby. I somehow knew I'd been blasted straight down to the Underworld. I walked up to Charon, who was waiting for me, and handed him all the money in my purse. I remember the old Greek tradition of burying the dead with money in their mouths to give to him, so they could pass on. Besides, what use was it to me, now that I was dead?

As I crossed over the river Styx, I saw all the dreams of the dead that were never fulfilled. As I watched, my own dreams swirled near the surface. My GED and college diploma hanging on a wall, a blank book with the words "By Sally Jackson" embossed on the front cover lying on the desk below, and in the corner was a picture of me with Percy, with him all grown-up.

Suddenly, a light bulb went on in my head, and I stifled a gasp, "Where's Percy?" I asked while frantically looking at the other passengers on Charon's ferry, "He's not here! Is he still alive?"

"For now," Charon growled, "But I will see him someday."

A smile lit up on my ghostly face, never mind his angry tone. Percy's still alive, I thought. The words repeated themselves, over and over, as I got off the ferry, onto the cold ground of the Underworld. Percy had a chance to live his life. He'd be okay.

The entrance of the Underworld reminded me of a highway. It had two lanes, one that was like the mortal "Cash only" lane and it was moving ever so slowly. I saw the long line of ghosts in this lane heading towards the fabled Judgment Pavilion. The other lane with the sign "E-Z Death" reminded me of the mortal "Fast Track" lane. It led straight to the Fields of Asphodel and was moving a lot faster than the other lane. I saw Cerberus, Hades's giant three-headed guard dog, standing behind the Underworld's entrance. I heard screams filled with pain coming from the Fields of Punishment, laughter and music coming from Elysium, and I felt the coldness that was emitted from the entrance of Tartarus.

I turned toward the long line heading towards the Judgment Pavilion. I wanted to at least try to get into Elysium, for I knew that Percy was going to become a great hero and I want to be able to spend my afterlife with him if I couldn't spend my life with him. After waiting for about an eternity, I finally entered the Judgment Pavilion.

I looked up at the three judges in front of me with their golden masks. They seemed to be reading my entire life, looking at every good and bad thing that I had ever done in my life.

The one on the right said, "She sacrificed her own future to help her uncle with cancer."

"But she assisted Poseidon in breaking his vow of having no more demigod children." The one in the middle said in return.

"She didn't know that Poseidon had an oath to not have any more demigod children," The judge and the left one said, "And she lost the life she should have had because of Zeus."

The judges continued speaking about all the things that I had ever done in my life.

"Elysium." The three of them said in sync. I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding. I left the Pavilion and started walking to the best part of the Underworld, Elysium.

Hours later, I saw one of the security ghouls walk into Elysium with a little baby boy with green eyes and messy black hair. "Percy?" No, it couldn't be, I thought frantically. Percy was alive, he had to be alive. Why was he in front of me?

I ran over to the ghoul and he handed the little child to me. I looked at him more closely and realized that it wasn't Percy. I nearly fell over in relief.

The little boy with a name tag saying "Hello, my name is: Harry Potter" pinned to his shirt. When I looked closer, I saw that the little boy, Harry, had emerald green eyes. Percy's were sea green, like his father's. The little Potter boy's hair much messier black hair than I ever let Percy's get, either.

Still, my child or not, he shouldn't be alone. I picked him up and started to walk down the streets of Elysium, looking to see if I could find his parents or at least one of his relatives. No matter how far removed - someone, after all, must have shared blood with him at some point.

Or not, as the case may be, my search turned up nothing. I couldn't find anyone who knew little Harry. It was as if someone didn't want me to meet them. I had just decided to give up and find a place where the child could eat - a few barbeques looked promising - when I saw two adults enter Elysium.

The man had messy black hair, hazel eyes, and was wearing glasses. The woman had red hair and the same shockingly emerald green eyes as Harry. Immediately I made a connection between them and little Harry, who I was holding in my arms.

I walked over to them and asked, "Do you know a Harry Potter?" I showed them Harry and waited for their response.

**(A/N I was really considering to end it here, so everything else is a little bonus for you guys because I want you to sign that petition!)**

"Harry? Is that him? But Lils, you told me he was still alive." The man said turning to his wife.

"Do you know him?" I asked again, for they hadn't truly answered my question.

"Of course we do," Lilly answered, "We're his parents." She took Harry from me and hugged him with all her might.

"But Lilly, our Harry is still alive. You told me yourself. That's why you're dead." Harry's father said stubbornly, "Then how is Harry dead?"

Lilly looked as if she had been caught under a searchlight and I just stood there in front of them, watching them awkwardly.

"Well James, Harry was going to die… and my mother asked me…. It's a long story." She said.

"That's fine," I said, "We have an eternity to hear it."

"And my mother gave me Percy and told me to pretend that he was Harry because Harry was… dying. So right now, Percy is living as Harry, but at least he's alive." Lilly finished.

"Wait," I interrupted for the first time since Lilly Potter had begun her story, "Do you know anything else about Percy? Do you know who his parents are?"

"My mother said -" She began.

"Who's your mother?" Her husband, James asked, confused. Lilly had explained to us that she was demigod (James had looked shocked when he heard this news) and she told me that she was a witch (This time I looked shocked).

"Hecate, the goddess of magic." She replied almost casually.

"Great, now will you please answer my question?" I asked. Admittedly, I was impatient.

"She said something about him being a son of Poseidon and his mother was dead," Her eyes widened. "You aren't saying-"

"My son, Percy Jackson, is a son of Poseidon and I'm dead," I stated flatly, "Well this would be a coincidence."

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	6. Chapter 6

**It's my birthday! So you guys get a new chapter! I don't know how exactly that works out, but this will probably be the fastest update you guys will ever get. We got this chapter done in 24 hours! So feel free to review and wish me a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!**

**None: I'm not sure what year he was born in canon, but for this story, pretend that they were born the same year.**

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**Beta'd by Tarnished Silver Things**

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Chapter 6

The giant bent down to pick up the door and fitted it back into its frame. The roaring sound of the storm outside seemed to drop a little. Then he turned to look at us.

His face was almost hidden by a long, shaggy, mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.

If I survive this, I am never, ever going to complain about getting a haircut again.

The giant stretched, and turned to my relatives. "Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…" He said as he walked over to the sagging couch, where Dudley sat almost frozen in fear. Not totally, though – I could see one of his eyes twitching slightly.

"Budge up, yeh great lump," the odd looking stranger said, prodding my cousins shoulder with… something. At first I thought was a weapon, but no, it was an umbrella in his hand. Weird.

Dudley squeaked like a mouse, which I wouldn't have thought possible due to his sheer size, and scrambled to hide behind his "Mummy", who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.

"An' here's Harry!" the giant practically shouted out. I jumped – he was here for me?

"Las' time I saw yeh, yeh were only a baby," the giant stated, "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."

Uncle Vernon made a strangled noise in the back of his throat; it sounded something like 'mimblewimble,' whatever that was. At any rate, he stood up straighter and glared at the giant. "I demand you leave at once sir!" he shouted, trying to sound fierce. I almost wanted to tell him he looked like a little girl next the giant, but somehow I didn't think that would be a good idea. "You are breaking and entering!" My Uncle held up the gun – that must be what was in the package he had earlier - and I could see that it was aimed straight at the giant's head.

But the giant didn't seem alarmed at all, he just said, "Ah, shut up, Dursley." Then he reached over the back of the couch, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, and twisted it into a knot. The giant then threw said knot into a corner of the room.

Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a small animal being stepped on.

"Anyway - Harry," said the giant while turning his back on the now unarmed Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."

From an unseen and apparently really huge inside pocket of his black overcoat, he pulled out a slightly squashed box. I opened it with my fingers trembling from excitement. Inside was a large, sticky cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in blue icing. I'd never had a birthday cake before, not that I remembered anyway. Did my mum and dad get me one when they were alive?

I looked up at the giant. I meant to say thank you, I wasn't that rude, but the words got lost on the way up to my mouth. Instead, I asked, "Who are you?"

The giant chuckled. "True, I haven' introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

I blinked as I tried to clear my head of an image of a pig with warts. I opened my mouth to ask what Hogwarts was, but Rubeus Hagrid's attempt to shake my hand ended up shaking my whole arm, and I couldn't really manage to get anything out.

"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together.

When his eyes fell on the empty grate, he snorted and bent down over the fireplace so we couldn't see what he was doing. The next thing I knew, I was bathed in the warmth of a crackling fire, and the giant was brewing a kettle full of tea, and cooking sausages.

He passed the sausages to me, and I was so hungry that I had never tasted anything so wonderful, but I still didn't take my eyes of the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed ready to explain anything, I said, "I still don't really know who you are."

The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth before answering.

"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts - yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."

"Er - no I don't," I said.

Hagrid looked shocked.

"Erm, sorry," I said quickly.

"Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning towards the Dursleys. "It's them who should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't getting yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know about Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

"All what?" I asked curiously. What was he talking about? My parents were drunks – they probably learned that in secondary school, like most every teenager did. As it was, I didn't really plan on doing the same.

"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered, making me jump back. What had I said? "Now wait jus' one second."

Hagrid leapt to his feet and turned towards the Dursleys, who were cowering against the wall.

"Do you mean to tell me," he growled, "that this boy - knows nothin' abou' - about ANYTHING?"

That was going a little too far. Alright, so I have ADHD and dyslexia, but I still learned some stuff at school. I was actually pretty good in music class.

"I know some things," I said, "I can, you know, do math and stuff."

But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world. Your world. My world. Yer parent's world."

"What world?" I asked. Now I was really confused. Were my parents members of a cult or something?

As it was, if the situation hadn't been so serious, I would have laughed; Hagrid looked as if he were about to explode.

"DURSLEY!" he boomed, and Uncle Vernon went very pale. Hagrid stared at me wildly.

"But yeh must know about yer mom an' dad," he said, "They're famous. You're famous."

Huh? "What? My - my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"

"Yeh don't know… yeh don't know… Oh, Merlin…" Hagrid fixed me in a bewildered stare. "Yeh don't know what yeh are?" he asked finally.

All of a sudden, Uncle Vernon found his voice.

"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"

A man way braver than Vernon Dursley would have shook in fear at the furious look Hagrid gave him; when Hagrid spoke, with every syllable he trembled with rage.

"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"

"Kept what from me?" I asked a little too eagerly.

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.

Aunt Petunia let out a gasp of horror.

"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid, "Harry - yer a wizard."

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	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the worlds of Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and I never will.**

**Beta'd by Tarnished Silver Things**

There was an awkward silence as I processed what he had just said. I must have misheard him. Magic doesn't exist, right?

"I'm a what?" I asked, giving Hagrid my what-are-you –talking-about-look.

"A wizard, o' course," Hagrid said, not noticing my look, sitting back down on the sofa which I was surprised didn't break. "and a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else could yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."

I eyed the large man carefully before at last stretching out a hand to take the yellowish letter that was the reason I had been sleeping on the floor. I stared at it for a second, silently unscrambling the green cursive.

Mr. H. Potter  
The Floor

Hut-on-the-Rock

The Sea.

The Sea. I liked the sound of that, if only I could always live on the Sea… I slowly pulled a piece of heavy paper from the envelope and, after a few long minutes, was able to read what it said.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY  
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)  
Dear Mr. Potter,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.  
Yours sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall,  
Deputy Headmistress

A million questions spawned just from that simple letter. I decided to ask the one question that seemed to have a time limit.

I looked directly at Hagrid and asked, "What does that even mean, they await my owl?"

"Gallopin' Gorgons," Hagrid exclaimed. I shuddered at the image the words brought up. "That reminds me." Hagrid clapped his hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a regular human being, and from one of his many pockets he took out an- owl? A real, live, squished looking owl, in fact, and a long quill, and roll of parchment.

With his tongue between his teeth, he scribbled a note that I couldn't even try to read it, just because it was upside down. I wondered what it said.

Hagrid then rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, strangely enough, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. I wondered if that counted as animal abuse. I wasn't sure, as Hagrid just came back and sat down as if what he had done was perfectly normal.

"Where was I?" he asked. It seemed for a moment that he was going to continue, but Uncle Vernon must have found his courage and he moved into the firelight.

"He's not going," he stated slowly, as though Hagrid were a particularly stupid person, and he wanted to make sure he understood what Uncle Vernon was saying. Hagrid just snorted.

"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like yerself stop him," he said, attempting to muffle his laughter.

"What's that?" I was half hoping it was a new insult that I could insult Dudley with, but I had a feeling it was something totally different.

"Non-magic folk." he said gruffly. "An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on." I didn't comment, but I figured he was right - I had some pretty rotten luck most of the time.

"We swore when we took him in that we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"

"You knew?" I exclaimed, shocked. "You knew that I'm a - a wizard?" I asked, my voice slowly getting higher, "And you never told me?"

"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia, stalking away from her corner. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that - that school, and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was – a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were _proud_ of having a witch in the family! And then she met that Potter at that school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as _strange_, just as – as abnormal – and then, if you please, she went and got herself _blown up_ and we got landed with you!"

My brain went blank. My parents . . . didn't die in a car crash? But - surely they had? The Dursleys hadn't lied about that on top of everything else, had they? Numbness gave way to anger and I glowered at my aunt. "Blown up? Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"

"CAR CRASH!" Hagrid roared, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys ran back into the protection of their little corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"

"But why do they know my name? What happened?" I asked. I had never been a person who wanted attention for my actions, so why did a whole community of people know me?

The anger quickly faded from Hagrid's face and was replaced with something that I could only guess was anxiety.

"I never expected this," he said, in a worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble getting' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don't know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh – but someone's gotta – yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."

He threw a long, dirty look at the Dursleys.

"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh – mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it…." I wanted to shout at him to get on with it - what had happened to my parents?!

"It begins, I suppose, with – with a person called – but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows it -"

"Who is it?"

"Well, I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. Nobody does."

"Why not?"

"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared of him. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you can go. Worse. Even worse than worse. His name was…"

Hagrid's mouth was open, but no words came out.

I was desperate enough to ask, "Could you write it down?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Nah, can't spell it. All right - _Voldemort._" Hagrid shuddered, as if just that name scared him. "Don't make me say it again. Anyway, this - this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too - some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches... terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him - an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway. Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You were just a year old. He came ter yer house an' - an' -"

Hagrid pulled out a dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a noise like a foghorn.

"Sorry, but it's that sad - knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find - anyway..." Hagrid trailed off, anda smiled slightly. It was nice to hear some praise of my parents after years of hearing how horrible they were from the Dursleys.

"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then - an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing - he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Ever wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh - took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even - but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts - an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."

As Hagrid's story came to a close, I remembered a dream that I had had when I was younger, a blinding flash of green light, more clearly than I had ever remembered it before – and for the first time ever, I remembered a high, cold, cruel laugh.

Hagrid was watching me think that over, with a sad, pitying look on his face.

"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot... And that, I'm sorry to yeh for."

"Loads of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon, calling attention to himself. I had almost forgotten that he was in the room. I had almost forgotten about all of the Dursleys, in fact. Uncle Vernon appeared to muster up whatever courage he left in his body, as he glared at Hagrid, and his fists were clenched.

"Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled at me, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured –" I glared at him. "– and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion - asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types - just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -"

But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa with amazing speed and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Like a sword, he pointed it at Uncle Vernon and said, "I'm warning you, Dursley -I'm warning you - one more word... "

In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed him yet again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.

"That's much better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa.

I still had about a thousand more questions for him.

"But what happened to Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who?"

"Good question. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see... he was gettin' more an' more powerful - why'd he go? Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who were on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don reckon they could've done if he was comin' back. Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers, too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on - I dunno what it was, no one does - but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."

Hagrid looked at me with warmth and respect in his eyes, but instead of feeling pleased and proud, I felt sure there had been a some sort of mistake. A wizard? Me? How could I possibly be? I'd spent my life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if I really was a wizard, why hadn't something horrible happened to them whenever he was sent to his cupboard? If I'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick me around like a football?

"Hagrid," I said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."

To my shock, Hagrid just chuckled.

"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"

I looked straight into the fire. Now that I came to think about it... every odd thing that had ever made my aunt and uncle furious with me had happened when I had been upset or angry... chased by Dudley's gang, I had somehow found myself out of their reach... and so many other unexplained things in my life.

I looked back at Hagrid, newly sure of myself, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at me.

"See?" said Hagrid, making it obvious that I shouldn't have doubted him for a second. "Harry Potter, not a wizard - you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."  
But somebody in his corner wasn't planning to give in without a fight.

"Haven't I told you a million times that he's not going?" Uncle Vernon hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be very grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish, spell books and wands and -"

"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't be stopping him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter' s son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled-"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.

But it quickly became obvious that he had gone way too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER," he thundered, "- INSULT- ALBUS- DUMBLEDOREIN- FRONT- OF- ME!" And I quickly noted that in my head.

He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley - there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, I saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers. I couldn't even hold in my laughter.

Uncle Vernon roared. He pulled Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them. And I was extremely grateful to that I wasn't on the other end of the pink umbrella.

Hagrid looked down at his umbrella regretfully and stroked his beard.

"Shouldn't have lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do." Of course there wasn't, it was a well-known fact to anyone who wasn't a Dursley or in Dudley's gang.

He cast a sideways look at me under his bushy eyebrows.

"I'd be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm - er - not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff - one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job."

"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" I asked, I didn't want to ever be not allowed to use magic personally.

"Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts meself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, that Dumbledore."

"Why ever were you expelled?"

"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly, not wanting to talk about it. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."  
He took off his thick black coat and threw it to me, and I hit the ground under its weight.

"You can sleep under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."

I woke up early the next morning. Even though I could tell it was daytime, I kept my eyes shut tight.

It was a dream, I told myself as firmly as I could manage. I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my not so lovely cupboard.

Suddenly, there was a loud tapping noise.

And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, I thought, my heart slowly sinking. But I still didn't want to open my eyes. It had been the best dream.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"All right, all right," I mumbled, "I'm getting up."

I sat up and felt Hagrid's heavy coat fall off of me. The shack was absolutely beaming with sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.

I quickly scrambled to my feet, completely happy. I went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who still didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.

I tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it just snapped its sharp beak at me and carried on savagely attacking the coat.

"Hagrid!" I shouted. "There's an owl here."

"Pay him," Hagrid grunted, muffled by the sofa.

"What?"

"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."

Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets, I found keys, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags… finally, I pulled out a handful of the oddest looking coins.

"Give him five Knuts," Hagrid muttered sleepily. What are those?

"Knuts?"

"The little bronze ones." Oh.

I counted out five of the little bronze coins, and the owl held out its leg so that I could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. As soon as I dumped in the money, it flew off through the open window. The Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.

"Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."

"Um - Hagrid?"

"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.

"But I haven't got any money - and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ... he won't be paying for me to go and learn magic."

"Don't worry about that," Hagrid said, standing up and scratching his head. "Did yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"

"But I thought their house was destroyed -"

"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."

"Wizards have banks?"

"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."

"Goblins?" Like the ones from-

But Hagrid cut my thoughts off, "Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly, "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you, gettin' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see. Got everythin'? Come on, then."

I followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was so much clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight, captivating my sight for a second. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.

"How did you get here?" I asked, not seeing any other boats.

"Flew," Hagrid stated as if it was normal.

"Flew?" If only there had been a mirror, I would have loved to see the look on my face.

"Yeah - but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh." He pointed to the boat that Uncle Vernon had invented.

We settled down in the boat, and I was still staring at Hagrid, trying as hard as I could to imagine him flying.

"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving me another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter - er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"

"Of course I won't," I said, excited to see some more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and we sped off toward land.

"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" I asked while staring at the water to the side of me.

"Spells - enchantments," Hagrid said, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way - Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."

Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.

I sat and thought about that while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. I had learned from many unfortunate experiences with Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, so I focused on the waves, and if it wasn't my imagination, they were moving in whatever way he thought of the moving…

"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, pulling me out of my trance.

"There's a Ministry of Magic?" I asked, before I could stop myself.

"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o ' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."

"But what does the Ministry of Magic do?"

"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there are still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."

"Why?"

"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone." True, true, very true.

At that moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and we clambered up the stone steps onto the street.  
Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as we walked through the little town to the station. And I couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"

"Hagrid," I asked, panting a bit as I ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"

"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."

"You'd like one? Wouldn't it be a little, what's the word, destructive?"

"Wanted one ever since I was a kid - here we go."

We had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to me so that I could buy our tickets.

People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.

"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. I took the parchment envelope out of my pocket.

"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."

I unfolded a second piece of paper that I hadn't noticed the night before, and after a couple minutes of deciphering it, read:  
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:  
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags  
COURSE BOOKS  
All students should have a copy of each of the following:  
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk  
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot  
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling  
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch  
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore  
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger  
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander  
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble  
OTHER EQUIPMENT  
Wand  
Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set  
Glass or crystal phials  
Telescope set  
Brass scales  
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad  
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

"Can we buy all this in London?" I asked Hagrid, as I had started to expect the unexpected of the wizarding world.

"If yeh know where to go," He said, before going back to his knitting.  
I had never been to London before, and even though Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he obviously wasn't used to getting there the normal way. He had gotten stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and had complained loudly that the seats were way too small and that the train was way too slow.

"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as we climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with many shops.  
Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all I had to do was keep close behind him. We passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath us? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks?

"This is it," said Hagrid, suddenly coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."

But it didn't look like a famous place. It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't even had noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't even bother to glance at it, as a matter of fact, their eyes just slid from the book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see it. I had a peculiar feeling that they couldn't see it. But before I could mention that, Hagrid steered me inside.

For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking out of tiny glasses. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter suddenly stopped as soon as they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"

"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on my shoulder and making me shake from the force behind it.

"Good Lord," said the bartender, giving me a look that suddenly made me very self-conscious, "is this - can this be -?"

The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent making me feel even more self-conscious.

"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter... what an honor."

He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward me and seized my hand, tears in his eyes.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."

I had no idea what to say. Everyone was looking at me. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.

There was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, I found myself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron, trying not to be rude.

"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."

"Always wanted to shake your hand - I'm all of a flutter."

"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."

I shook hands again and again - Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.

A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.

"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."

"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping my hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."

"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?" I asked curiously.

"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.

But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep me to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last after taking way too much time, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.

"Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."

Doris Crockford shook my hand one last time, and Hagrid led us through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.

Hagrid turned and grinned at me.

"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh - mind you, he's usually tremblin'."

"Is he always that nervous?" I didn't want to make people nervous just because I was standing there.

"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag - never been the same since.  
Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now, where's me umbrella?"

Vampires? Hags? And Hagrid was, curiously enough, counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.

"Three up... two across he muttered. Right, stand back, Harry."

He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.

The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.

"Welcome, to Diagon Alley."

**A/N: **

**I hope you liked the chapter! Let me know what you thought! **


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